Why mind is so difficult to handle....?,check it out

when all the senses are stilled,when the mind is at rest,when the intellect wavers not-then is known the highest state of divinity.The calm of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga.he who attains it is free from delusion.

-katha upanishad

How to control the mind seems to have always been a great problem for most people.In the Bhagvad Gita,an ancient scripture of Hinduism,prince Arjuna laments to his friend and teacher Shri Krishna,

"O Krishna, my mind is naturally restless.It constantly agitates my senses. It is extremely stubborn and resists all attempts to control it. It is just as difficult to control as it is to control the strong winds." Hindu tradition also compares an uncontrolled mind to monkey which is totally drunk and is being stung by hornets.A naturally restless animal like a monkey becomes all the more restless when it is drunk and being stung by hornets.

There are several proven techniques of controlling the mind.these were developed by some ancient sages of India,among whom Ptanjali is the most well known.

Meditation, called Dhyana Sanskrit, has been used in India for several thousand years.The ascetics and yogis of India spent hundreds of years developing various meditation techniques.The Hindu sage patanjai mastered the secrets of human mind and wrote exhaustively about various meditation techniques in his famous book Yoga-Sutras, or the Aphorism on yoga.Over the ages,those who have achieved spiritual illumination using these techniques have verified their efficacy.

Meditation analogies

It is not easy to meditate. Meditation is a state of intense concentration. Two analogies are often used to explain what Dhyana or meditation is. In the first analogy, oil is being poured in an uninterrupted flow from a container into empty bowl.Here oil symbolizes the mind and the bowl the object of thought.I f mind is made to flow in an uninterrupted manner to its object of thought for a prolonged period of time, it is called meditation. The second analogy is that of an unflickering candle flame burning steadily in a windless place. In this analogy the flame is the mind.The wind represent the disturbance. The mind, free from disturbances, is in a state of meditation; it is engaged in one pointed thinking, however,has to be holy.If it is secular or unholy it can not be called meditation.

Lastly , i would like to point out here that the practise of meditation can benefit everyone irrespective of one's religious affiliation. It can even help an atheist find the ultimate truth.